William Shakespeare

What's the easiest way to tell if a poem is a sonnet?

• See it it's about love and romance

• See if it contains rhyming couplets

• Figure out if it's written in Latin

• Count the number of lines

What can you conclude about Shakespeare's acting company from its name?

• It was sponsored by Queen Elizabeth I

• It was made up of men only

• It was the most popular company in London

• It was originally formed in Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford

Shakespeare wrote more than 100 sonnets. Which term best describes his output?

• Prolific

• Optimistic

• Sparse

• Friendly

Which of these is an opinion about William Shakespeare?

• Relatively little is known about his childhood

• By 1594, he had gained fame in London

• His plays are more important than his poetry

• Some of his sonnets are addressed to a young man

How would Shakespeare please the groundlings in his audience?

• With bawdy jokes

• With poetic language

• With heart-wrenching romance

• With stories about kings and nobles

What did original performances of Shakespeare's plays have in common with modern Broadway plays?

• They were all two acts long

• They contained lots of music and singing

• They were nominated for numerous awards

• They debuted in a large theater in a big city

What do Shakespeare's history plays have in common?

• They present realistic pictures of what life was like in the past

• They're not tragedies, so the characters never die

• They're almost always about kings, queens, or nobles

• They're extremely long

Groundlings were most similar to:

• Wealthy socialites who regularly attend the opera

• The people in bleachers at a ballgame

• Young families who occasionally see plays in the city

• People who make sure to see a movie the night it comes out

"Twelfth Night" is a comedy. Knowing this, what can you infer about the ending of the play?

• It's very funny

• It contains several sonnets

• One of the characters dies

• It probably includes a wedding

What supernatural creature can be found in many of Shakespeare's plays?

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